


For Moral Support (For You)

by Cuirlfox369



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Prompt Fic, Requested, Support
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 05:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7301104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cuirlfox369/pseuds/Cuirlfox369
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As requested by tumblr anon: "Maybe a story about Matt auditioning for that underwater show in Cerulean Gym? Tabitha could be there to give him emotional support ;)"</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Moral Support (For You)

“Ain’t it great?” Matt asked as he beamed up at the pink and yellow building. The picture of a Dewgong smiled down at them from the rooftop.

Tabitha stared back, unamused. “It’s tacky.”

“It’s the Cerulean City Gym, bro!” 

Tabitha deadpanned, despite Matt’s enthusiasm. “It’s shaped like a beach ball.”

With a laugh, the swimmer hefted a duffel bag onto his shoulder. “C’mon, Makuhita man! Tryouts are this way!”

Tabitha shook his head, but soon followed Matt into the growing current of people walking into the Cerulean Gym. As the Magma Admin glanced about, he noted the varying sort drifting through the blue halls. Most appeared to be from Kanto or Johto, but he could hear the slight infliction on the words spoken by those from Unovo and Sinnoh. There was a bit of Kalosian mixed into the chatter. He didn’t hear those from Alola as much as he saw them, swimmers clad in bright, tropical colors and flowery patterns. 

The one constant amongst those in the crowd was a strong case of nervousness. The unease seemed to fill the atmosphere of the building and settle onto those present. The welcoming décor, colored primarily shades of blue, was a clashing afterthought in comparison.

Tabitha felt anxious and he wasn’t even trying out. ‘I’m just moral support,’ he told himself. That didn’t stop his hands from fidgeting with the gold cuff on his gloves. When he turned his gaze on Matt, the swimmer didn’t seem like he was affected. He was grinning like a kid in a candy store and ogling the water pokemon, whether they were with their trainers or pleasantly swimming in the aquariums. Even so, when Tabitha glanced down, he noticed the faint shaking of Matt’s blue-gloved hands.

Before he could think twice about the act, Tabitha had sped up and laced their fingers together. When the larger man looked at him curiously, the red admin gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. 

“You’re going to do great, okay?” The blue swimmer nodded calmly, but Tabitha frowned. “Now you say it.”

Matt smiled then; not the broad grin he usually wore, but a warm smile that said things he didn’t quite have the words for. “I’m going to do great.”

“You call yourself an admin? Again, with some heart!”

“I’m gonna do great!” he bellowed, finishing with a hearty laugh. Hand still entwined with Tabitha’s, he tugged the red admin into a crushingly tight hug. “Thank you.”

“It’s what… I’m here for,” Tabitha answered breathlessly. Matt released him with a sheepish grin and a small apology. Back on his feet, Tabitha took a step away from the swimmer. “Go on and get ready before you’re late. I’ll be watching from the stands.”

Matt gave one last wave before walking determinedly down the hall.

 

The stands for the auditorium were, unsurprisingly, blue. The light filtering through the above ground tank and cast everything in shimmering blue and white hues. The scent of chlorine hung in the air, a clear but sharp permanent. The Magma Admin considered waiting outside until Matt’s tryout, but he knew he couldn’t risk missing the other man’s performance. Instead, he grit his teeth and stomached the thought that he didn’t belong in this setting in the slightest.

Tabitha found a seat several rows below the judges, none other than the Sensational Sisters themselves. Matt had spent much of the trip to Kanto detailing their fame to Tabitha, but the Magma Admin still hadn’t grasped what made them so popular. At any rate, a lot of people- including Matt- had come a long way to audition for parts in their next season of performances.

They’ve all had their own ways of coping with life after Groudon and Kyogre. Team Aqua and Magma had dedicated their forces to helping the future of both people and pokemon, going so far as to unite the teams. Although the idea of a new name- and even purple uniforms- had been thrown around, very little had changed aesthetically. The bases were remodeled to house both teams and they now worked side by side in a stronger culmination of their expertise. As the final step to integrating more peaceably with society, they were encouraged to choose hobbies outside of their work. Tabitha, when he wasn’t experimenting on various technology with Shelly, had taken up hiking and spelunking. Matt had always been a strong swimmer, but now he was turning the pastime into a practiced art. 

When the Sensational Sisters announced that they were holding auditions, Matt had nearly broken Tabitha’s door in his excitement. (They had invested in doors, at least to separate the personal quarters from the teleporting halls. There had been a few awkward incidents of grunts walking in on their leaders and admins in compromising situations prior to that decision.)

Applause snapped Tabitha from his reverie. The last performer and her Popplio left the pool as the intercom clicked overhead.

“Thank you,” the eldest sister, Daisy, said through the microphone. “Will the next performer and their pokemon make their way to the pool? We’ll let you know when we’re ready to proceed.”

Matt stepped out onto the platform overlooking the water. It felt solid beneath his feet, but that didn’t stop some part of his mind from conjuring the image of the floor opening up and swallowing him whole. He tried to ignore it and remember the routine. He had practiced it a thousand times and his body was shaking with anticipation- and a large deal of nerves. Matt wondered for a moment how long he had stood there, for time seemed to stretch in the limbo in which he waited. When he looked over at the three lovely judges, their calculating gazes and ever moving pencils did nothing to still the Beautifly’s in his stomach. 

Just when he began to think that dropping dead on the spot would be more forgiving, Matt spied a dash of red in the crowd. Even in the largely blue stands, his Tabitha was still eye-catching. The Magma Admin smiled then and flashed his ruby eyes. Matt would have his full attention. Something powerful burned inside the swimmer’s chest at that moment, turning all his doubts to ash.

He could do this. He would do this. And he was going to do great!

“Performer Matt Ushio, are you ready to start?” Daisy’s voice finally asked. The man in question nodded. Even from the platform, he could see her eye the pool uncertainly. “Are you certain?”

Matt flashed the judges a broad grin and a clear thumbs up. 

“Then you may begin.”

He took several steps back, to get a strong start, before bounding neatly into the air. At the apex of the arc, the swimmer pressed the botton on his pokeball. Sharpedo appeared and dived alongside him in a synchronized spiral. As focused as he was, Matt still took comfort in the red he saw out of the corner of his eye.

They plunged into the water and the real performance began.

 

Matt’s tryout was the last one before an intermission. Tabitha was scarcely listening as he hurried down blue corridors, quietly swearing to not touch the cool primary color for at least a week after this was over. His thoughts came to a screeching halt when he spotted Matt, hair still wet even though he had changed into dryer clothes. Practically surrounding him were the three Sensational Sisters. Tabitha hung back, uncertain if he should step in or wait. 

Matt chose for him.

When the swimmer saw him, he smiled from ear to ear and broke away from the women to practically tackle Tabitha with the force of his hug. 

“My Makuhita-man, bro, Tabi!”

“M-matt, you big brute,” the smaller man wheezed, “too tight!”

“Aw, you know you love it!” he said. He let Tabitha go, but kept one arm slung over his shoulders as the smaller admin’s face grew red. 

“We’re not interrupting anything, are we?” the blonde sister asked as the trio approached.

Violet smiled sweetly. “Be nice, Daisy. I think they’re cute.”

“Does he swim too?” Lily asked.

“No,” Tabitha said quickly.

Matt just smiled. “He’s working on it, though.”

“Well,” Violet began, “we have to be back in a few minutes.”

“We’ll be in touch,” Daisy added as the two strode away.

Lily hung back for a moment. “Even if it doesn’t work out, don’t be strangers, okay?” With that, she bounced away to join her sisters.

Tabitha looked up at Matt, confusion clear. The swimmer beamed in response. “They really liked my routine! Nothing’s certain yet, but they think I have a good shot at getting in!”

The Magma Admin smirked. “Of course you do! I told you that you would do great.”

Matt’s smiled never faded, but his eyes softened warmly. Tabitha could be sick of every shade of blue after today- every shade but the one that shone in Matt’s eyes. As he was transfixed, the larger man squeezed his shoulders and leaned down enough to place a kiss on his cheek.

“Thanks, Tabitha.”

“Only for you.”

Matt chuckled. “Not even for Maxie? Or Courtney?”

The Magma Admin leveled him with a look. “I’m in a tacky building shaped like a beach ball. The sign is a Dewgong for Arceus sake. I’m surrounded by nothing by water, water pokemon, and the color blue. I’m going to smell like chlorine for the next few days. I mean what I say, you big brute, and I mean it when I say absolutely ‘only for you.’”

The Aqua Admin lead them towards the exit. “I promise to make it up to ya, Makuhita-man. You know I love you, right?”

Tabitha leaned up against the man. The arm across his shoulders had a comforting weight to it. He could practically hear the larger man’s heart racing from the still fresh excitement of it all. 

“I love you too, Matt.”

**Author's Note:**

> I greatly thank the anon for giving me this request. It took me a bit to figure out how I wanted to go about it, but ultimately just some small comfort and fluff was the result. I really hope you all enjoy it. It was a nice break from writing my chapter fic.
> 
> At any rate, I do accept requests or prompts. Whether I get any or not, I do plan to write more one-shots in the future (probably going to look at a Courtney/Shelly one next). You can put any requests in the comment section or just send them to my tumblr ( http://evilteddy369.tumblr.com/ ). It isn't much to look at, but it works.
> 
> I don't have a Beta Reader, so I apologize for any mistakes that slip me by.
> 
> All comments and kudos are greatly loved and appreciated!


End file.
